


let others do for you

by ShyAudacity



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alice has a secret ooh boy, Established Relationship, F/M, Fred is A Good Friend, Mentioned Fredsythe, Mentioned Southside Serpents, Sort Of, Teen Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, idk what else to tag, just for a second, parentdale, yeah okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 11:57:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16428971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyAudacity/pseuds/ShyAudacity
Summary: It’s her first day of senior year and as much as Alice wants to be somewhere else, she can’t blow off this class, not on the first day, not if she wants to make sure that she can keep up with school this year before college. Her and Hal already have plans of going off to Boston next year- his eyes light up every time she mentions it- Alice doesn’t want to mess that up. She’s got something good going for the first time in, well, maybe forever.She already got sick once this morning, bent over near the bushes at the back of the school, praying to god that no one saw her coughing up the orange juice she’d called her breakfast. She never gets sick, not if she can help it, at least. Even after her worst hangovers, Alice isn’t one to toss her cookies, so why would-No. Not that. No, it can’t be that… can it?ORHere's everyone who (sort of) knew before Hal did.





	let others do for you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bewareoftrips](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewareoftrips/gifts).



> I really tried to channel Kim while I was writing this so I hope I did a decent job. I never thought that I'd write a teen Alice fic, but alas, here we are.
> 
> Unbeta'd and title from "Forever Young."

It’s ten minutes into second period and she has to puke.  _Again_.

It’s her first day of senior year and as much as Alice wants to be somewhere else, she can’t blow off this class, not on the first day, not if she wants to make sure that she can keep up with school this year before college. Her and Hal already have plans of going off to Boston next year- his eyes light up every time she mentions it- Alice doesn’t want to mess that up. She’s got something good going for the first time in, well, maybe forever.

She already got sick once this morning, bent over near the bushes at the back of the school, praying to god that no one saw her coughing up the orange juice she’d called her breakfast. She never gets sick, not if she can help it, at least. Even after her worst hangovers, Alice isn’t one to toss her cookies, so why would-

No. Not that. No, it can’t be _that_ … can it?

Alice panics, unable to focus during any of her classes for the rest of the morning. She can’t be pregnant, she just can’t. That’s not a part of the plan, not yet anyway. First, college, then getting married, _then_ kids. That’s the plan- or at least, it was, until today.

She tries to put it out of her head. Besides, you don’t know what you don’t know, right?

At lunch, she spots Fred in the cafeteria- she’s not even hungry dammit, but he always knows what to do. He’s never been one to run when one of his friends needs help.

Alice lays a hand on his shoulder, trying to play it cool. “Hey, Freddie can you spot me ten bucks?

He digs around in his jeans for his wallet, thumbing through it. “I got eight- what’s it for?”

“…A pregnancy test.”

Fred’s eyes go wide, one-part shock one-part panic.

“Al, you’re-?”

She shushes him before he can finish, looking around nervously “Shut up, someone might hear you. Just- will you help me or not?”

He nods, practically speechless.

“Yeah, yeah, of course… whatever you need.”

Alice sighs deeply, feeling dumb for even considering the idea that Fred would say no and leave her high and dry. He’s still Fred, after all.

They go to the drugstore after school, his truck an eyesore in the middle of the empty parking lot. The woman checking them out at the register looks between both of them more than once, an almost disappointed look on her face. If it weren’t for Fred’s hand on her shoulder, keeping her calm, Alice might have spit in her face just for the hell of it. 

She nearly drops the test three times before the answer even appears, her hands haven’t stopped shaking since they left the parking lot. Alice isn’t sure whether she should cry or puke when two lines appear in front of her. She lets Fred into the small bathroom when he raps on the door- it’s his house dammit- and lets a tear slip out as she hides her face in his shoulder.  

_God, how could I be so stupid?_

“My dad is gonna kill me.” She says, tugging at her hair.

“You’ll figure this out, Al.”

“And if I don’t?”

Fred bats at her knee, looking her right in the eye “…you’re still Alice Smith, you can do anything. Even this.”

It doesn't do much to make her feel better, but she appreciates him for trying. He gives her a hug before she leaves later, his hands gentle as always, Alice makes a mental note to count him in her blessings before she falls asleep that night. She can't imagine what she would have done if he hadn't been there.

***

The conversation with her dad goes as horrible as she expected it would. He yells, she cries, they fight, and Alice finds herself locked out on the front porch at ten o’clock at night with only her backpack and a spare pair of clothes, more pissed at herself than sad.

For a minute, she wishes that her mom was still alive, tells herself that she’d know what to do.

She can’t go to Fred’s; Artie would get suspicious and just call her dad which would only mean bad news for everyone. FP doesn’t stay at his trailer often enough for her to consider playing that game of heads or tails. If she shows up at Hal’s this time of night he’s going to want to talk about it- she’s not ready for that, not yet. She hasn't even come to terms with it herself. 

As a last resort, Alice finds herself hopping the fence to Mary Moore’s backyard, hoping that none of the neighbors saw her. She goes over to the one window with a light on inside- of course, Mary would still be up studying. Alice has to knock three times before Mary finally pulls back the curtain, looking bewildered as she pushes the window up.

“Alice? What are you-?”

“Can I crash here?”

Mary’s eyebrows nearly reach the sky, “Are you out of your mind? You can’t just-”

“Mary, It’s just one night, I swear I’ll have something figured out tomorrow. I’ll explain some other time, just- _please_.”

As much as she hates it, Alice isn’t against begging, not in a moment like this; Mary looks at her curiously, biting her lip for a moment before sighing, looking over her shoulder to make sure the bedroom door is shut.

“Be quiet, and be careful, the floor creaks and my parents are right across the hall.” She says. “Stay here, I’ll find you a blanket.”

Alice spends the night sharing Mary’s full-size bed, faced back to back, right at the edge of the mattress with a lame excuse for a pillow under her head. It’s better than risking spending the night on some park bench in the middle of town, she knows that much.

Alice wakes up when Mary does- which, apparently, is six am on the nose. She grumbles, but gets out of bed anyway, she needs to leave before one of Mary’s parents come to call her for breakfast. She’s changing into her other pair of jeans when Mary finally bites from having held her tongue the whole night.  

“Whatever it is,” She says, cautious but kind. “I hope you figure it out soon.”

Alice nods, “Thanks, Mare.”

A minutes later, she slips out the window without being seen, as if she’d never been there in the first place.

***

Fred walks right up to her in the lunchroom without an ounce of subtly.

“Who else have you told?”

“Hi, Fred. It’s nice to see you too,” she mocks. Alice doesn’t want to have this conversation right now, not _again_.

“Alice, c’mon. Have you at least told Hal? He needs to know.”

“Oh, give me a break, it’s not like you’re chomping at the bit to tell everyone about you and FP.”

Fred sputters, “That’s- that’s not the same and you know that.”

She does, of course, she does. Alice knows that this secret and theirs are wildly different- but keeping them private still hurts all the same.

“What’s not the same?” FP asks, appearing over her shoulder.

Alice huffs, frustrated. She pushes past both of them, not in the mood to be around either of them right now. She makes it halfway down the hallway before there’s a hand on her elbow, halting her. Alice yanks her arm away from FP as he stands in front of her.

_This moron really doesn’t know how to take a hint._

“You gonna tell me what this is about?”

Alice crosses her arms over her chest. “No.”

FP quirks an eyebrow at her, “Ali-.”

“ _Don’t_ -, don’t call me that.” That nickname is only reserved for people she really likes. Like Hal, or Fred on a good day, maybe her dad in some alternate universe where they aren’t always at each other’s throat. A world where he doesn’t kick her out just when she needs his support the most. But FP? No way, he’s at the bottom of her list- usually is for one reason or another, despite being friends.  

FP shrugs, still waiting for a response; she settles with giving him a half-truth.

“My old man kicked me out. There, happy?”

“Damn, you musta really pissed him off, what’d you do this time?”

_Only the one thing I was hoping to avoid for at least another six years._

“It’s not important, he’s just an ass, you know that.”

FP drops his voice when a couple of freshmen walk by. “You know Hog Eye keeps an old cot in the backroom at the Whyte Wyrm. You could probably crash there for a few days till this thing with your old man blows over.”

She pulls her red jacket higher up on her shoulder, “Yeah, maybe…thanks, F.”

Alice trusts the serpents, she really does, but she doubts that this is something they’re going to be able to fix.

“I should get back in there before Fred gets too lonely- you comin’ or what?”

She contemplates it for a minute, then shakes her head. If she stays any longer she’s going to lose her lunch or spill all her dirty secrets, and having two people know she’s pregnant in a town like this might as well be everyone.

“No, I’m okay. I have calc to do, anyway.”

FP struts off, calling, “Suit yourself.”

Alice leaves as soon as he’s gone; pushes through the nearest double doors and walks right out of the school, not caring who sees. Calc can wait until later; if she’s gonna get any decent sleep in the near future, she’s gotta see a man about a bed in a bar.

***

Alice, somehow, makes it all the way to sixth period before puking her guts out, getting up in the middle of Vic Mantles English presentation to run to the bathroom.

She sighs, rubbing at her temples, then at her mouth, hoping that none of it got on her face. Two days before homecoming and she can’t even stomach a banana for more than a few hours, how the hell is supposed to get through dinner with Hal?

Alice gets rid of the mess before the smell can linger. It’s been _weeks_ since she found out and she’s still getting sick to her stomach nearly every day. When she was getting dressed this morning, none of her jeans would button like they usually do- looked in the mirror only to realize that she had finally started showing. Alice had cried just a little, a mix of feelings overwhelming her. She had settled on a yellow jumper and a pair of her mom’s old overalls afterward, hoping that it would hide the bump.

_This is not how I thought my life would turn out._

Hermione practically gives her a heart attack when she comes out of the stall; she didn’t realize that anyone else was in here.

“I didn’t peg you for the type to make herself sick just to keep her boyfriend happy.”

“Shut up, I’m not bulimic.”

Hermione rubs her hands with lotion, shrugs, “Could have fooled me.”

Alice huffs, absolutely bored with the conversation. She dries her hands, almost to the door when Hermione stops her.

“Hey-.”

“Oh _my god_ , what?”

Hermione reaches into her purse, pulling out a shiny, silver stick. “Do you want gum or not?”

Alice deflates a little, feeling bad for snapping at her. She steps forward, snagging a piece between two of her fingers before muttering, “Thank you.”

Hermione nods, an almost knowing look on her face. “Don’t mention it.”

Alice shoves the whole pink strip in her mouth before she can say anything else, then walks back to class, hoping to god that she still fits into her dress come tomorrow night.

***

_It has to be tonight,_ she tells herself _, I have to tell him tonight or it’s never going to happen._

There’s an anxious pit in her stomach, feels a lot like morning sickness, strangely enough. Alice is pacing backstage in her dress, a light blue gown with spaghetti straps- it’s definitely going to have pit stains in the morning with how much she's sweating.  

Herself and Hal got crowned king and queen not even ten minutes ago, and it had taken everything in her to not lose it while they were dancing together. She had, however, asked him to meet her backstage in a little bit, didn’t give a reason why when he looked at her funny. The last thing that she needed was to have a crowd drawn when she completely flips Hal’s world upside down.

Alice bumps into Fred right before he’s about to go on stage, he looks at her with that same careful face that he did that day in his small bathroom. She finds herself thinking about that day a lot, wondering where she would be now if the answer had been different.

Fred touches her arm, asking, “You okay?”

“Ask me tomorrow.” She says stiffly.

Fred nods, and she can see Hal pushing through the curtains behind him; her heart begins to race in double time. The smile on his face reminds Alice of all the reasons that she ever liked him in the first place, the same reasons why she has to tell him about the baby before anything else decides to come along and mess with everything she thought she knew.

Hal’s face falls as he sees the anxious look on her face, “Alice?... Al, what is it?”

She swallows heavily, thinking: _I really hope that he still loves me after this._

“…I have to tell you something.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not totally in love with the ending but I'm posting it anyways. Kim, happy (well belated) birthday, I hope you loved it. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments/Kudos are appreciated and encouraged. You can leave a prompt here or at my tumblr (archieandrewsprotectionsquad). Thanks again for reading, have a great day!


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